Things are getting out of hand at the Colonial Country Club. And we mean that literally for Michael Thorbjornsen. The American golfer, searching for his first PGA Tour victory, couldn’t balance himself after trying to wedge out a bunker shot on the first hole in the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge R3.

Thorbjornsen’s approach shot landed close to the edge of the slope of the green-side bunker. He had an awkward downward lie. While he executed the scoop well with one leg inside the bunker and one outside, he couldn’t control his footing on the follow-through. Right after hitting the shot, Thorbjornsen tried to get out of the bunker and fell over. A short replay showed that his right foot slipped while keeping his eyes on the flying ball.

The commentators could be heard laughing as the 24-year-old took a tumble. “You would’ve pulled the hamstring,” quipped the broadcaster to his colleague, Curt Byrum. Thorbjornsen himself could be seen laughing at his own fall even though there was a chance of injury. The ball landed 10 feet from the pin, and the American pro saved par. While he didn’t disappear like John Daly (more on that later), the moment was hilarious nonetheless. In retrospect, though, that awkward tumble summed up his day as Thorbjornsen kept falling down the leaderboard.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

On Which Hole Jordan Spieth’s Ball Got Stuck Under a Trashcan?

14th 15th16th 17th

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

When he started the round on Saturday, Michael Thorbjornsen was sitting near the top of the leaderboard, as he had ended the second round with a 65. He made two bogeys on the front nine, both on par-4s. On the fifth hole, Thorbjornsen missed a six-footer, and on the seventh hole, he missed a seven-footer. His putter troubled him throughout the day.

Michael Thorbjornsen lost 0.886 strokes with the flat stick, ranking 56th in the field. He was first in scrambling, getting up and down in all of his 10 attempts. Thorbjornsen ended his day with only one birdie, settling for a 1-over 71. His playing mate Ryan Gerard kept the pace, carding 2-under to tie for second. Meanwhile, Jordan Smith, the third pro in the threesome, slipped even further after a 4-over round.

Nevertheless, falling down while hitting a shot is more common than you’d think. At the 2026 Cologuard Classic in Arizona, John Daly took a scary fall down a massive hill. Luckily, he was not hurt. His caddie, Joel Cooley, rushed after him to help. Bryson DeChambeau also took a tumble while hitting a shot out of fairway bunker at LIV Golf Singapore. DeChambeau tripped and fell into another bunker in front of the one he was standing in.

“Not the most elegant of follow-throughs,” LIV Golf commentator David Feherty joked. The Crushers GC captain avoided any serious injury. Quite naturally, Thorbjornsen’s fall at the $9.9 million event got a giggle from everyone. Other than the fans, one of his peers also laughed about the entire incident.

Michael Thorbjornsen’s fall leads to laughter among the golf fans

Min Woo Lee teased, “Ayooo, golfers are athletes.”

The debate about whether golfers can be considered athletes has always run wild. The popular consensus among a non-golf audience is golfers are not athletes. Of course, that isn’t true, and Lee took a sarcastic dig at the critics who believe golfers don’t do enough work to be considered athletes.

A fan wrote, “Hand down, ego down, sand: 1. human dignity: 0. Dramatic but iconic. Lol.”

While Thorbjornsen may not have fallen gracefully, he took the entire situation quite maturely by laughing it off. This certainly created a memorable moment at the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge.

One of the comments said, “I thought I was watching the NBA finals 😂.”

The free-falling motion of the 24-year-old does make it seem like he was shoved by a fellow forward of an opposing team during an NBA game. It was like a fight between Thorbjornsen and an imaginary 7-foot Detroit Pistons player. Or maybe “the Shai Gil special,” as another fan suggested.

Lastly, enjoying a bit of wordplay, someone wrote, “Laying it all out there for us today.”

Thorbjornsen took ‘getting close to the green’ to a whole new level with that one. But someone should remind him that it’s the ball that is supposed to drop, not him.